ff jan 2011

January 2011FOREST FLOWER

CONTENTSMain Article

Zen Speaks

You Just Have to Make Them Hungry 4

23Zen Speaks: Zen in a Cup

Musings

Special Feature

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January 2011FOREST FLOWER 3

Sadhguru on Creating a Wave of Consciousness around the World

This Month: Chunky Veggie Salad 21

Isha Recipes - For Healthy Living

Dhyanalinga Yogic Temple

An Avalanche of PleasantnessSadhguru on the Kala Bhairava Karma Process 10

Upcoming Programs and Events

Isha Yoga – Program Highlights 20

Why Can’t We Live Forever?8Shekhar Kapur in Conversation with Sadhguru

Reviving a Glorious Tradition

Leela Series

The path of the playful – Part XVIII: 12Beyond Kingdoms Krishna Beheads Kamsa

News & Happenings

The Ananda Alai Phenomenon

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Sadhguru’s Mahasathsangs Ignite Tamil Nadu 15

As the Master Works His Magic Over 1000 Participate in Inner Engineering with Sadhguru in Delhi

SADHGURU

Sadhguru, you have spoken about creating a wave of consciousness in the world. Could you tell us more about this and about Isha’s role in making it happen?

Sadhguru: You know a whole lot of people are making predictions, “By 2012, there’ll be a wave of consciousness.” When so many people are making a prediction, and so many people are expecting it, I don’t want them to be disappointed. [Laughter]

One tremendous thing today in the world is, for the first time, sitting here, we can talk to the whole world. Never before such a thing was possible. We have the technological capability to do that today. I’m sure the Adi Yogi1 himself will envy me today because even he could not speak to the whole world. He had to send seven of his people – all of

them were very wonderful human beings – but only three found real success. But today we can sit here and talk to the whole world; we can speak to them in their homes; they don’t even have to step out on the street. I can whisper what I want into the whole world’s ears. Technology has reached such a state.

So one thing is, we are looking towards forming a powerful team of people who will drive the technology for us, so that we can reach out to everybody. The first step towards this is the launch of the online Inner Engineering program. And another thing is, we are forming a kind of a loose alliance with all the spiritual gurus and traditions of this country2 In the first week of January, the topmost people are coming together for a day. And we are just a few steps away from some of the top leadership in the western countries.

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Sadhguru on Creating a Wave of Consciousness around the World

Q:

1 Referring to Shiva as the ‘Adi’ or first Yogi2 India

You Just Have to Make

Them Hungry


This will not happen if we put too much emphasis on Isha. We don’t want to become like a governmental kind of setup. I don’t think an organization should grow. If you have such ambitions, you must keep them aside. We should make Isha into a powerful and effective tool to deliver what we want to deliver, but we have no intentions of making Isha a world-conquering institution or something like that. We are not some Mogambo3 , you know. Shambho, no Mogambo. [Laughter]

We are also in the process of working towards Adi Yogi temples4 which can be significant platforms for delivering the possibility of igniting the longing in a human being to work towards his liberation. Raising consciousness does not mean teaching them something; raising consciousness means to make them hungry for something more than food, money, wealth, pleasure, and these kinds of things – to make them hungry to know, to make them hungry to become accessible to something bigger than what they know right now. You just have to make them hungry enough; consciousness will rise by itself.

Modern technology, and the pleasures and distractions that the 21st century world can offer, have been a serious challenge for raising consciousness. But at the same time, nations and societies which have seen these kinds of comforts, conveniences, and pleasures for a generation or two are slowly getting sick of it. It’s only the newly affluent societies which are running towards it; others are trying to slowly run away from it. This is already beginning to happen in the world; we just have to increase the momentum. A lot of people in Western societies that have seen comfort, wellbeing, and pleasure for two generations are just disappointed with the way they are existing. But still there has not been a direction for them, as to which way to go.

Even the hippie movement was actually a spiritual wave, with a bad direction, a bad sense of leadership, bad goals – but the fundamental aspiration was good. They were trying to run away from the conventional way of building one’s life. But not knowing where to run, they ran into a pit, and after that, they are wary of one more wave like that. And it’s good – this

is all a learning process for humanity. When such a big wave comes, it is very difficult to direct it. When a tsunami comes, you can’t take your boat on it and go where you want; you would just go and crash into something.

So it is good that with modern technology, you can talk to people individually, not in a crowd. This is something people are underestimating. Now we are doing Ananda Alai Maha Sathsangs where I am talking to large crowds. This has a certain power about it, but in societies which are affluent and well-to-do, it is best that we talk to people individually. That is what books have always done. And that is what the Inner Engineering Online program will do – it will talk to people individually, in their own homes, where there is room and time for them to think and see what this is about. If one million people are doing Inner Engineering Online in this year, it will be quite a big wave by itself. People are doing the online program, and just sitting in front of the computer, they are bursting into tears – this is happening to lots of people; we are getting these sharings from everywhere.

These are some of the ways to raise human consciousness. Somewhere down the line, when it picks up momentum, I will sleep for some time – and that will be the most powerful phase. Right now, I am on, active; when I sleep, it will become very big. Still we don’t have the necessary infrastructure – human and otherwise – set up in the world for me to go to sleep for some time. We got it all lined up; now we need to execute it. We need to build powerful teams of dedicated people to make this happen. We have to gear ourselves up to a different level of action. A different level need not necessarily mean more action; it simply means more incisive action.

So we don’t want to disappoint all those New Agey people – they are like little children; they know nothing. They are expecting there will be a wave of consciousness – why disappoint them? [Laughs]

– Excerpted from a Talk by Sadhguru

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3 Character in the famous Hindi movie ‘Mr. India’ – a brilliant yet insane General whose goal is to conquer India 4 Sadhana temples dedicated to Shiva as the Adi Yogi from whom the science of yoga originated; planned in different parts of the United States


6 January 2011FOREST FLOWER

DHYANALINGA YOGIC TEMPLEReviving a glorious tradition

“No other culture has ever produced the depth of spiritual processes as this culture has, and that has not happened over night. That has taken thousands of years of tremendous amount of work, the kind of work that you cannot even imagine.”

– Sadhguru You can get involved in this historic happening...

fter thousands of years, Dhyanalinga – the dream of many enlightened beings, has come true by the grace of Sadhguru.

Designed with an insight into the precise science behind their construction and consecration, ancient temples were built not as places for prayer but as energy spaces that people could make use of for their immediate and ultimate wellbeing. While the knowledge of these inner sciences has become extremely rare today, the need to make this incomparable wealth of inner riches available to all is greater than ever.

Since the Dhyanalinga Yogic Temple was opened to the world, hundreds of thousands of people have been touched and transformed by the grace of Dhyanalinga. The experience of deep states of meditativeness has brought a sense of peace and joy into their lives. In order to allow many more to experience the essence of this yogic science, an array of elements and facilities need to be created around the temple. Once established in its full splendor, the temple will offer the possibility for every individual, no matter what their background is, to experience true wellbeing.

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Planned facilities of the Dhyanalinga Temple complex:

Adi Yogi Aalayam – A 44,000 sq. ft. columnless sadhana hall, as such the largest in India, with a 36,000 sq. ft. mandapam. This space will be open to all who are willing to receive an initiation into spiritual practices.

Theerthakund – A second energized water body with three rasa lingas (energy forms made of solidified mercury), to offer the ever growing number of temple visitors the possibility to take a dip which will not only enhance their spiritual receptivity but also increase their health and wellbeing.

Sangeeta Mandapam – Offering daily concerts by classical artists

Gateway – An imposing entrance to the temple

Mandapams – Aesthetically designed pavilions for rest and recreation

Bhojana Shala – A dining space for devotees

Chatrams – Rest houses for temple visitors

Nandavanams – Temple gardens

Auditorium/Theater – Showing documentaries with spiritual or scientific content

Arts & Crafts Center – A display of traditional arts, crafts, music, and clothing from across the country

The Dhyanalinga, when completed with the surrounding energy spaces and facilities will be a spiritual hub, designed to help people experience the Divine within themselves.

It is up to all of us to make this happen. We seek your heartfelt participation in this noble cause. By contributing generously, you will become an integral part of this historic happening which will offer millions of people from India and around the world an opportunity to experience a deep sense of bliss. This will be an invaluable gift, a lasting legacy and an eternal offering for generations to come.

“Of the many ways one human can contribute and serve another human being, to offer the spiritual possibility that fulfills one’s ultimate wellbeing, is supreme.”

– Sadhguru

For each 2100 rupees, you can sponsor one square foot of the Dhyanalinga Temple complex !

For more information on how to donate, please contact us:

Phone: +91-422-2515378, 94425 04672

Email: [email protected] donate online:

www.ishafoundation.org/donate

www.dhyanalinga.org

Adi Yogi Aalayam


Shekhar Kapur: Health and longevity are two things everybody talks about, but the messages that are coming across are quite diverse… [Sadhguru laughs] So I have two questions: a), what is the value of living beyond a certain age, and, b) when living beyond a certain age, is there something inherent in us that actually could keep us healthy, or do we always need outside help from doctors and hospitals? If there was something inherent in us, then maybe I would believe that nature has an intention to keep us alive.

Sadhguru: [Laughs] If nature didn’t have an intention to keep you alive, you would be dead.

Shekhar Kapur: Yeah.

Sadhguru: Even now, you’re alive not because of the medicine that you are taking or the hospital

consultation that you are having, not because of the health check-ups, but because nature still intends that you should live. It’s because of the life process that you are living, not because of medicine. Medicine can play around a little bit. It cannot create life as such.

There are many ways to look at it. I’m trying to put it in a very simplistic way.

Shekhar Kapur: No, you don’t have to. [Sadhguru laughs] I’m simplistic enough, so don’t worry. If there’s no way to put it in a simple way, then say it the way you want, and I’ll ask you the simplistic, naïve question again. [Both laugh]

Sadhguru: The thing is, this very body that you carry was created from within, isn’t it? You provided raw material from outside, but the creation process happened from within. So obviously, the source of creation, or the manufacturer of the body, is within. Trying to fix health from outside is a very effortful process. If you keep access to the innermost core, health will be a natural phenomenon. Thinking that it is something that you have to manage from outside is a very wrong perception.

Shekhar Kapur: So, the idea of spirituality is staying in touch with your inner self, and your relationship to all of existence naturally promotes health without you having to think about it – is that true?

Sadhguru: Today, it is common medical knowledge that every cell in the body is naturally programmed for health. If it is programmed for

Why Can’t We Live Forever?

Shekhar Kapur in Conversation with Sadhguru


health, why would it work against you? If you get an infection – an infection means it’s a kind of an invasion from external organisms – then it’ll be dealt with. It’s a kind of war situation. You need to do some chemical war on them and kill them, or whatever you have to do to recover from that situation – that’s a different thing. But more than 70% of the ailments on this planet are chronic. That means they’re self-created. They’re created within your own body, by your own system. Why would this system, which has an immense desire to exist and survive, create an ailment or something against itself? Somewhere, some fundamentals have gone off-track, isn’t it? If you keep in touch with the innermost core, which is the source of creation, which is the maker of this body, health is not something that you need to discuss or aspire for. If you keep this system in a certain way, health exudes by its own nature.

Shekhar Kapur: Would you describe that way as a meditative way?

Sadhguru: I would like to, but I would avoid the word “meditation” because it’s such a badly abused word. If I say “meditation,” everybody has their own ideas of what it is. If you knew as much as what it means to simply sit here absolutely still, if everything was still within you for two minutes in a day, you would be perfectly healthy. Just two minutes. Man is ill only because he does not know how to be still.

Shekhar Kapur: And if I’m perfectly healthy, how does death come?

Sadhguru: You must live healthy and you must die healthy. “So if I’m healthy, how will I die?” Health has got nothing to do with death. Death will happen when your life energies lose their vibrance. Right now, they are vibrant in a certain way because of a certain software input. This software, we traditionally call prarabdha. Prarabdha is a certain dimension of your karmic information. It has a certain amount of information latched onto your life energy, so it keeps working in a certain way. Once the prarabhda karma, the information which is allotted for this life, has worked itself out, the energies start becoming feeble. If the energies

become feeble below a certain level, they cannot hold on to the body; they have to leave the body. Or if the energies become intense beyond a certain level, they cannot hold on to the body. Only in a certain frequency of intensity, your life energies can hold on to the physical body.

So, if your life energies become feeble, they leave the body. That’s dying of old age. But most people don’t die of old age; they die because they broke the body in some way. That’s dying of ill health. Or you might break the body by crashing your car or breaking your heart. [Both laugh]

Shekhar Kapur: I’ll probably go because of that. Yeah.

Sadhguru: Either a broken heart or a rotten liver… We don’t know what. [Both laugh] But in some way, you made the physical body inhospitable for life; so, life leaves.

Shekhar Kapur: See, you’re making a big distinction between the body and life, as if life is something else; and that’s something that everybody struggles with…

Sadhguru: No, no, no. You tell me. Did you accumulate this body?

Shekhar Kapur: Yes, I did, by eating.

Sadhguru: So, I’ll ask you again the same question. Whatever you accumulate can be yours, cannot be you, isn’t it?

Shekhar Kapur: Yes. Correct.

Sadhguru: So, I’m definitely making a distinction between what is you and what is your body because your body is just an accumulation. For now, I’m not disputing whether it’s yours or not. A day will come when that’ll also come to dispute… [Both laugh]

9January 2011FOREST FLOWER

e are starting a certain process called ‘Kala Bhairava Karma.’ This is for the dead, to ensure that their new location is a better place. How can we ensure this? First, you must understand what death is. When somebody dies, you think they are dead. As far as that person is concerned, he just lost his body and everything else that he knew as life. When he lost his body, he also lost his discretionary mind. He still has a mind but he has lost his discretion. Losing your discretion means – let’s say somebody that you knew died. You may grieve for some time, but then you will employ your discretion and think, “There is no point in going on like this. Let me get back to whatever I need to do.” Somebody who is unable to employ his discretion will stay in such a state for a long time.

When the discretionary mind does not function, and you create a little pleasantness, this pleasantness will multiply. If you create a little unpleasantness, this unpleasantness will multiply. This is exactly what happens when that which you call ‘death’ happens, when somebody loses his body – but on an absolute scale. Even in a drunkard or a child, the discretionary mind is there to some extent – but in the dead, it is completely absent. Whatever his tendencies, those tendencies will multiply. If he has pleasant tendencies, these pleasant tendencies will snowball; if he has unpleasant tendencies, those will avalanche into something extremely unpleasant. If it avalanches into a hugely unpleasant state, we call it hell. If it snowballs into a very pleasant state, we call it heaven. Hell and heaven are not geographical locations. They are in individual human beings.

Every culture somewhere has been aware of this. That is why everywhere in the world, irrespective of religion, when a man is dying, whoever he maybe, you must create a pleasant atmosphere. Who wants to disturb even that process (of death)… Even if it is your enemy who is dying, at that one moment, you don’t create unpleasantness for him – unless you are really worse than an animal.

You know, here in this culture, if somebody is dying, you utter a certain mantra. The idea is to create a certain pleasantness; to make sounds which will bring a pleasant vibrance into the dead. These mantras were created because the people who engineered this culture were not ruled by emotion, they were not ruled by thought – they were just ruled by their awareness and perception. So if somebody is dying, you don’t hold their hand, be loving and all that; just sit and chant. And the rule in this country used to be, ‘You must never die among your family.’ [Laughs] When old age came, when people wanted to die, they would move to Kashi to die alone, not among the family. Because if you die among the family, you will look at them with attachment; you will not be able to part – unpleasantness will arise and that unpleasantness will snowball into something terrible for you, and it will not be good for others either. So when death comes, you move away and die alone.

Either in the last moment or just after a person dies, we can touch that life in such a way that pleasantness will seep into that life. Once even a drop of pleasantness is put into him, this is going

An Avalanche of Pleasantness

Sadhguru on the

Kala Bhairava Karma

Process


W

to become an ocean of pleasantness after some time because he has no discretion; he cannot stop it.

So we can put a drop of pleasantness into that being, up to 11–14 days after, if the person died of old age. In case somebody who was very young and vibrant died, either by breaking the body in an accident or suicide, or you broke your heart [laughter], if you died in one of these ways where life is still vibrant but the body broke and became inhospitable for the life process, then we can do this up to 48 days. If it’s a very vibrant life, we can influence it up to 90 days. Up to 48 days, very easily we can do it if the person who died is below I would say 40 years of age. Even if he is 50–55 but full of life and he died because he broke his body for some reason, we can still influence him up to 48 days.

This has been very much a part of the yogic culture, that if somebody dies and he does not have the awareness to conduct his death properly, somebody else does it for him. But unfortunately, probably in the last hundred to hundred and fifty years, these traditions have become largely dormant; what is left is corrupt, purely commercial. If you lose somebody who is dear to you and you go there, they will ask you to bring footwear for the dead, an umbrella, a cow or a horse; these days, they may even ask you for a Mercedes. [Laughter] The dead does not need footwear; one who has lost his body is not going to wear footwear. If the man who is conducting the process wants footwear, he must say, “I want footwear.” At least he will get the right size. [Laughter]

Both for the people who were around him, who loved him, and the person who is dead it is an extremely sensitive and crucial time but that is the time you will face the most horrible situations today. If you take them to those cremation grounds, you will be attacked by hawks; they are actually not attacking you, only your wallet. They are not interested in your flesh; they are interested in what’s in your pocket.

This has been bothering me for a while. We are into too many things, but this is one thing we cannot avoid. We need not conduct people’s marriages because not everybody may marry – at least here1 – but everybody will die. So we are going to start the first crematorium run by Isha Foundation in Coimbatore City. And we are starting these Kala Bhairava processes right here2, using the Bhairavi Temple as the energy base. If somebody dies that you or somebody else knows, within 14 days, they can send us a piece of the clothing of that person, and a certain process can be conducted here for the dead.

We would like people to live their lives blissfully. If they don’t live blissfully, at least they must die peacefully. If they don’t even do that, we want to do something after they die. So even if you are dead, we won’t let you go. How is that? [Laughter]

1,2 At Isha Yoga Center

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Beyond KingdomsKrishna Beheads Kamsa

amsa did not trust his own people; he thought the Yadavas may revolt any time, so he had a small contingent of Jarasandha’s Magadha soldiers in his palace all the time, for his protection. The Magadha soldiers were strategically positioned, and after Krishna had defeated Chanura, the Yadavas also came with their arms and placed themselves. The moment this happened, the Magadha soldiers attacked, and the first person they went after was Krishna’s father. This was expected, so the Yadavas felled the soldier who had gone after him and a battle started. This huge crowd of innocent people, women and children, did not know where to go, and a stampede

occurred. When Krishna saw the scene and grasped where it was going, he knew he had to do something. He jumped over the barrier that enclosed the wrestling ring and saw Kamsa in his fury pulling out his sword and coming towards him. Akrura, Krishna’s uncle, tried to stop Kamsa who wanted to kill the boy, but Kamsa turned around and knocked him down. Krishna ran up to Kamsa, held him by his hair and pulled him down. Kamsa lost grip over his sword and fell backwards, and Krishna dragged him into the wrestling ring, took Kamsa’s sword and with one slash, he beheaded Kamsa. Then he took the conch that Kamsa was wearing, blew it as a trumpet of victory, and everything stopped. People

Leela Series The path of the playful –

Part XVIII

K


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immediately knew that the prophecy had come true – Kamsa was dead, killed by a 16-year-old boy. Everything became still. Then some people burst into celebration. Krishna said, “Quiet! This is not a time for celebration. Our king is dead; this is a time for mourning. I have done what was needed, but this is not something that we should celebrate.” That’s how he was made. From there, his mission began. Here he got established as the Deliverer, the savior of that race, because as it had been prophesied, he came at the age of 16 and put an end to this tyrant. This man that we call Krishna grew into such a multi-dimensional figure, the way he handled every aspect of his life, as a playful boy, as a lover, as a king maker, as a statesman, as a warrior. With how much flair he played every role he was given was

just unbelievable. He criss-crossed the country any number of times to establish the dharma . By the time he was 30, he was established as an absolute power. Many people offered their kingdoms, but he just remained an arbitrator for all the kings. He was acknowledged as dharma goptr, that means protector of righteousness, but never did he rule a kingdom, though he would have had the power and the capability to do that.

To be continued…

MahabharatSaga Nonpareil

‘Mahabharat’ will be much more than just a program to attend or performances to witness. You are invited to become part of a truly breathtaking explosion of arts, culture, and beauty. A celebration of life’s exuberance and depth. An insightful exploration of an unparalleled saga, inimitably interpreted by Sadhguru.

Date: 5 – 12 December 2011Venue: Isha Yoga Center, Velliangiri Foothills, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu – India

For more information, please contact us: Phone: +91-94449 02058

Email: [email protected]

“This is not a story of either love or war, nor of treachery, devotion or greed, but of all that humans are made of, and of the possibility of rising beyond. If there ever can be a complete depiction of the human creature – this is it.”

– Sadhguru


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As the Master Works His Magic Over 1000 Participate in Inner Engineering with Sadhguru in Delhi

16th December 2010...the day many had worked towards in the last several months was finally here! Delhi was hosting the so far largest Inner Engineering program to be held anywhere in the world, with over 1000 participants. The venue had been set in the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium, a sports complex built during the Common Wealth Games of 2010. As volunteers started trickling in from the morning of the 16th, taking on different activities from cleaning to dining, registration to hall set up, the entire space could slowly be felt transforming from a space of simple physical action and roaring crowds to one of warmth, stillness and enormous intensity.

An hour before the beginning of the program, music from Sounds of Isha started filling the corridors. Participants came in, a bit cautious in their movements, with curiosity in their eyes.Many had pre-registered online for the program on the Isha Foundation website. As one observed the

entire registration process happening so smoothly, so silently, such a large number of people patiently standing in queues – a rare concept in the City of Delhi – it seemed like a large orchestra had been set in place, each of the instruments in tune, in harmony with the other.

With a 1005 people sitting on chairs, Sadhguru walked on the dais, allowing everyone to see him clearly. All – the sceptical, the devotional, the investigators – heard him in rapt attention, trying to make sense of this person who seemed so logical, yet so profoundly mysterious in his ways. With intrigue and curiosity, a pleasant smile on many of their faces, the participants left after the first three-hour session. A chord had been struck for many, yet they didn’t know what they had just stepped into.

In the following days, the stiffness and wall of self-protection that many had worn on the first day mellowed into a feeling of ease and trust. On Sunday,


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the initiation day, one could see that people had really opened up as Sadhguru kept everyone roaring with his sharp wit and funny anecdotes, effortlessly leading them towards the initiation process.

As the initiation of Shambhavi Maha Mudra began, the possibility and enormity of what was being offered started becoming too huge to understand or comprehend. A new energy seemed to fill the hall and the people. Later, as they came out for lunch, one could clearly see many had been deeply touched; many lives would not be the same again.

On the last day, even after the program had ended with song and dance, many stayed back in silence for a long time, as if pulled by something that just didn’t let them leave.

A silent revolution is happening in Delhi, and we have become part of it. Sadhguru’s words started ringing in the air, “A world full of love, light and laughter...its time has come.” Its time had definitely come, and its impact will multiply.

Ananda Alai, the “Wave of Bliss,” is growing into a movement across Tamil Nadu, India. Since September last year, Sadhguru has been igniting the state with 16 Mahasathangs.

These Mahasathsangs have been a rare opportunity for tens of thousands of people at one time to be with Sadhguru, as he offers words of wisdom and joy, and touches the hearts of the Tamil population with stories and jokes in their native tongue.

The reception Sadhguru received in each city was one of exuberance and enthusiasm, not just from the meditators and volunteers who have been with

Isha for many years, but also by those who had come out of curiosity or by word-of-mouth, and who experienced Sadhguru’s presence for the first time. Over 150,000 people gathered in the larger cities like Chennai – from housewives and business executives to farmers and film stars. Mahasathsangs in the smaller cities drew crowds of up to 50,000 – sometimes, half the city’s population.

Although thousands from all walks of life attended, Sadhguru’s ability to touch and connect with each person individually could be sensed, as tears of love and gratitude were shed by men, women and even

The Ananda Alai PhenomenonSadhguru’s Mahasathsangs Ignite Tamil Nadu


children throughout the discourse and meditation. Particularly at the closing of each Mahasathsang, as Sadhguru walked among the crowd, the stir he had created within each one present turned into something overwhelmingly powerful.

Ananda Alai is part of Sadhguru’s wish that no one be left untouched by the spiritual process. And for all, Sadhguru has graciously offered the opportunity to live a life of joy, fulfillment and wellbeing, reigniting a spiritual movement in a state and country that has been rich with enlightened beings for thousands of years.

The cities touched by Ananda Alai include Madurai, Dindigul, Trichy, Thanjavur, Chidambaram,

Pollachi, Vellore, Thiruvannamalai, Pondicherry, Erode, Salem, Tuticorin, Rajapalayam, Nagercoil, and Chennai. The massive turnouts and tremendous impact created in each of these cities prompted the press to liken Ananda Alai to the “Freedom Movement” of yore.

The series of Mahasathsangs will culminate on 13 February 2011 in Coimbatore.

Following the phenomenal response to the Mahasathsangs, Sadhguru will conduct Tamil Isha Yoga mega-classes for thousands of people at one time.

The Ananda Alai in Tamil Nadu has become a blitz1. Everywhere we go, even in the small towns, at least a quarter of the population is in the Sathsang. They’re sitting there for four hours, unmoving. Just about anybody who witnesses this is completely amazed, “How are these people sitting so disciplined, without any instruction, without any police? Without any pushing, pulling, absolute discipline.” These are not meditators. The Silent Revolution of Self-Realization which we launched almost 21 years ago, you must come and see how it has borne fruit. And the Ananda Alai is stirring it up in a huge way, which we are going to follow up in the coming year with the mega

programs. The enthusiasm that you see for these programs is just unbelievable. We are already in the flow, but in the next 1 1/2 to 3 years’ time, in literally every village in Tamil Nadu, you will see a huge spiritual movement like never before. We have put the basic infrastructure in place; we are just setting fire to it in the coming year. It is really going great, absolutely great. So, many things are coming up, that means a lot of work.

But I want you to understand, it is once in many generations that such an opportunity comes that we can touch so many people’s lives so powerfully and so wonderfully. For example in a town like Salem,

16

1 German for “lightning;” also fig. as “lightning campaign”


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we have over 30,000 people in the Sathsang, almost 80% of them in tears, all clapping, dancing, laughing, crying. I don’t think anybody has witnessed a crowd like that anywhere. It’s incredible, incredible.

So these 21 years of work in Tamil Nadu are just beginning to bear fruit. When the fruits are beginning to grow on the tree, that is when they really need to be protected and taken care of. I believe that all of you will do the best that you can do. We were thinking of 8–10,000 people in the three-day mega programs. Now people are saying “no way” – they want to go up to 15–20,000 people. I said, “Let’s cap it at 20,000, beyond that it’s going to be crazy.” A three-day Inner Engineering or

Isha Yoga program with 20,000 people – can you imagine the impact of that on a particular town with a 100,000 population? Twenty percent or one fifth of the town becomes meditative in one shot. Can you imagine the impact of that on this town? That is what is happening. It is a real Silent Revolution of Self-Realization.

We’ve been on this job for the last 21 years. This is not just landing upon us from the skies. There are thousands of wonderful, dedicated people who have steadily worked to make this happen. And when you come and see what’s happening at these Sathsangs, if you just look at people’s faces, it’s just all worthwhile, everything that’s been done.

Sadhguruvudan Isha Yoga (Tamil) programs:

11 - 13 March 2011 – Madurai – Phone: 99524 22832, 94878 9552718 - 20 March 2011 – Trichy – Phone: 94435 69529, 98432 8598525 - 27 Mar 2011 – Chennai – Phone: 97899 83260, 044-24333185

Ananda Alai


Sadhguru Biography out Now!

Now available in major bookstores across India

and online at www.ishashoppe.com

“The thirst to be boundless is not created by you; it is just life longing for itself.”

- Sadhguru

By

Arundhathi Subramaniam

SADHGURU More Than A Life

This is the extraordinary story of Sadhguru – a young agnostic who turned yogi, a wild motorcyclist who turned mystic, a sceptic who turned spiritual guide. Pulsating with his razor-sharp intelligence, bracing wit and modern-day vocabulary, the book empowers you to explore your spiritual self and could well change your life.

It seeks to re-create the life journey of a man who combines rationality with mysticism, irreverence with compassion, ancient wisdom with a provocatively contemporary outlook and a deep knowledge of the self with a contagious love of life.

Drawing upon extended conversations with Sadhguru, interviews with Isha colleagues and fellow meditators, poet Arundhathi Subramaniam presents an evocative portrait of a contemporary mystic and guru – a man who seems to pack the intensity and adventure of several lifetimes into a single one.

ISBN 978-06-7008-512-5256 pages — Rs. 499Published by Penguin Ananda


19

Sadhguru’s New Year Message

Come Alive.Ho Ho Ho

The year is coming to a closeAnd what have you done this year?

One more year gone.Are you still alive?

And what are you alive to? And what are you dead to?When was the last time you saw a full moon?

Or a sun rise?When was the last time you gazed at a mountain or the ocean?

Or looked at a butterfly fly?When was the last time you saw a flower blossom?

Or kicked a ball?When was the last time you smiled at yourself?

When was the last time you looked back and could laugh at yourself?For the last few days of the year and for the years to come,

get into the act and make it happen for yourself.Come alive.


20

Program Highlights

These programs are conducted in English, unless indicated otherwise. Current at the time of print, however subject to change. For full program schedules and updates, please visit our website www.ishafoundation.org.

Date Program Place Contact

30 Jan 2011

My Conversations with the Mystic

Webstreaming Event with Sadhguru

Internet www.myconversationswiththemystic.com

3 - 6 Feb 2011

Leadership Retreat - Inner Engineering

IntensiveResidential program

conducted by Sadhguru

Los Angeles, USA

[email protected]

3 - 6 Feb 2011Inner Engineering

RetreatResidential Program

Isha Yoga Center,Coimbatore, India

0422-2515421 [email protected]

3 - 6 Feb 2011Shoonya Intensive

Residential ProgramIsha Yoga Center,Coimbatore, India


9 - 12 Feb 201Bhava Spandana (Gents)

Residential ProgramIsha Yoga Center,Coimbatore, India


13 Feb 2011

Ananda Alai Mahasathsang

Conducted by Sadhguru in Tamil

Coimbatore, India 94434 94434, 0422-2495453

16 - 23 Feb 2011Samyama

Residential Program con-ducted by Sadhguru


9442504681 [email protected]

24 Feb - 2 Mar 2011Yaksha 2011

A Celestial Feast of Music and Dance


[email protected]

3 Mar 2011 MahashivarathriIsha Yoga Center,Coimbatore, India


10 - 13 Mar 2011Inner Engineering




24 - 27 Mar 2011Inner Engineering




5 - 12 Dec 2011Mahabharat

Residential Program con-ducted by Sadhguru


[email protected]


21

Isha RecipesFor Healthy Living

Ingredients:200 g Tomatoes (cubed)300 g Cucumber (cubed)200 g Capsicum (cubed)4 leaves Chinese cabbage (cubed with stem removed)150 g Sweet corn10 pieces Black olives (chopped)3 teaspoons Olive oil1 teaspoon Lemon juice½ teaspoon Salt½ teaspoon Black pepper (freshly ground)

CHunky VEggIE SaLad

Method:

1. Mix all ingredients together.

2. Season with salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon juice.

Tasty Tip:

Garnish with chopped parsley, mint or coriander leaves.

Add ½ cup of chopped walnuts or roasted peanuts for extra crunch and flavor.

Eating natural foods, foods whose cells are still alive, will bring an enormous sense of health and energy into the system. Just experiment and see. You can start with 25% natural food, and gradually push it up to 100% in about 4–5 days, stay there for a day or two, and then again cut it down by 10% per day. That way, in 5 days, you will reach 50% natural food, 50% cooked food – that is ideal for most people who wish to be active for 16–18 hours a day. If you eat 100% natural food, your sleep quota will come down dramatically; you cannot sleep for more than 2–3 hours. So only if you are willing to be active over 20 hours a day, you must go for 100% natural food. Otherwise it keeps you all the time bright and up; it won’t let you sleep. It’s very good to be like that, if you want to live; but you want to sleep, isn’t it?[Laughs] So you eat 50% cooked food.

– Excerpted from a talk by Sadhguru


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